Doubts have been expressed by the field formation as to whether offences relating to undisclosed foreign bank accounts/assets could be compounded as per the extant guidelines of the Board dated 23.12.2014. The matter has been examined in consultation with the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

2. In this regard, the undersigned is directed to convey the following:

(i) Such cases can be compounded only after filing the Prosecution complaint(s) and shall not be compounded at the stage of show cause notice and/or without filing the complaint in the court.

(ii) The cases in which the assessee has not admitted the foreign bank account(s)/assets and/or has not cooperated with the Department in the assessment, penalty & recovery proceedings shall not be compounded.

(iii) The cases in which the assessee has admitted accounts/assets either fully (all accounts with which he is associated) or partially (only a few accounts out of all accounts with which he is associated), paid taxes and penalty and cooperated with the Department may be considered for compounding as per the guidelines dated 23.12.2014, only after filing the complaints.